What an exciting time we live in. Soon and very soon we will be honoring the 267^th Pope of our church. He will be elected by the College of Cardinals. In my own lifetime, I have been blessed to live under the reign of 6 Vicars of Christ: Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul IV, John Paul I, John Paul II and Francis. God willing, I hope to see the 7^th person soon to be chosen. Being Catholic is such a magnificent experience. What that means to me is that I am grateful that I can see Christ in front of us in the flesh: via the flesh of the Pope. In the selection of a new Pope, there is more pageantry than that of a king; more dignity reserved than that of a prominent world figure more hope and splendor that that belonging to a president. To live with the knowledge that the Pope represents Christ on earth is mind boggling. It means that we can see God; the Pope is a visible sign of God’s great care for us. It also lifts us out of the darkness and the daily disappointments of international divisiveness, false political promises, and spiritual dryness that we see every day. I’ve been thinking to myself: How lucky I am to be Catholic.” When his funeral ride was taking him through the streets of Rome to his place of burial, we saw hundreds of thousands of people lining up on the sidewalk smiling gratefully and applauding him. Tears came to my eyes. For I saw in that scene Christ being taken down from His cross and buried only to rise from the dead! St. Paul’s words came to me: “Oh death where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting?” If only we Catholics realize and take to heart who we really are citizens of heaven and citizens of the world; it would cause a great hope to flood the world. For then people would see in us the living presence of Christ, as we see in the popes. Jesus’ words to His disciples in today’s Gospel reflects what Pope Francis’ life has spoken to us: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish!” Thank you, dear Pope Francis; please pray for us as you enter the reward prepared for you from the beginning!   ~ Fr. John